The Centaur's Daughter

Gr 7–10—Seventeen-year-old Abisina knows that the people in her adopted village, Watersmeet, are starving and that the danger from überwolves and minotaurs is high. As a result, the Keeper refuses entry to refugees from the restrictive south, where people believe beings other than humans with unblemished light skin and hair are demons. After Abisina is declared a traitor, she embarks on a quest to the south with her loyal friends: a centaur, a faun, a human girl, two dwarves, and the human boy she loves. The trek is only the beginning of hardship since Abisina, herself an outcast from the south, must convince the people there to accept her friends even as she tries to hide her ability to shift into a centaur. An unexpected gift at the end means a change in how the south and north will work together, leaving the teen to find the strength to become the leader she needs to be. The plot is fast paced and full of romance, suspense, and adventure and handles prejudice and acceptance in thought-provoking ways. Fans of Watersmeet (Marshall Cavendish, 2009) will enjoy this sequel, but it stands on its own.—Clare A. Dombrowski, Amesbury Public Library, MA